Aruba November 2015
Having spent months debating with the wife where to go on our next holiday we finally agreed on Aruba. Aruba is an Island in the Caribbean about 18 miles North of Venezuela. Its about 20 miles long and 6 miles across at its widest point. Aruba along With Bonaire and Curacao are collectively known as the ABC islands. Its Part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Official languages are Dutch and the local tongue of Papiamento. Aruba is also known as the Happy Island and after a week there it was easy to see why.
Its seemed a perfect place as it has some great beaches and hotels (keeps the wife happy) and has some fantastic bird watching spots great for a mix of local Birds and migrating birds.
We arrived late afternoon on Tuesday 10th November. The flight was about 9.5 hours from Gatwick to Queen Beatrix International Airport, Oranjestad. It was pretty hot when we arrived and across the week we were there they Temperture hung around the 30C. It was also pretty windy for the week at times it felt like being in a large hair dryer. The First Birds spotted were a House Sparrow and Tropical Mockingbird at the Airport. I noticed a few unidentified birds from the coach on the transfer from the Airport to the resort of Palm Beach were we where staying for the week. Palm Beach is the main resort on the Island and in 2013 was voted 7th best beach in the world. Its a little bit nicer than the beach at Severn Beach. On arriving we checked into our Hotel the Riu Palace and went for a quick walk along the beach before sunset. The area was alive with Bananaquits ( Barica hel) and Carib Crackle (Zenata caribena)
View from hotel balcony
First morning Wednesday 11th November I was up and out by 6.30am for the first few days i didn't have a hire car so stayed local to the hotel. My Birdwatching throughout the week was pretty much done between the hours of 630am and 9am. After 9am it was to hot and Wife time, who has no interest in birds at all. I had my Canon 7D Mark2 alongside my Canon 400mm F4 DO USM lens for all bird Pictures. All other blog pics were taken on my trusty I Phone 5s. I was using the Helm field guide Birds of Aruba, Curacaco and Boinaire as my ID guide.
Opposite the main entrance to the hotel was a small Salina full of water so this was the first stop. Everything was pretty distant here and the sun was still not up so it was difficult to pick everything out. There was a small area to view this from the rest was covered in a thick line of tress and scrub. The first bird I noted was a Green Heron (Galina di awa) fishing in a small stream it was only about 5 meters away and didn't budge even though it must of seen me. Good start hopefully all the birds will be this accommodating. It was still to dark to take a decent picture so I carried on and scanned the rest of the Salina. There were a few Caribbean Coot (Gaito frente blanco) where possible I will add the local name in brackets. 5 White Cheeked Pintails (Pato di ana) there was also 2 Great Egrets (Garsa blanca grandi) the same as what we we call a Great White Egret back home and a Great Blue Heron. (Garsa blou grandi) Also here was what looked like a Glossy Ibis (Ibis preto) but was far to distant for me to be sure. The Island also gets some rare visitors the White Faced Ibis, Scarlet Ibis and Limpkin.
Next stop was Bubali Pond Bird Sanctuary this is one of the best areas on the Island for Birds. The Bubali wetlands are a state owned nature reserve and are classed as an Important Bird Area by Birdlife International Altough it seemed very overgrown and was lacking some serious up keeping. There was a lot of rubbish about and the viewing platform was closed off as it was in a very poor condition. The first morning here I met 2 Birders from the States these were pretty much the only birders i meet the whole week. Viewing Bubali was also difficult the only access really was from the viewing area and yes of course I climbed the viewing tower so i could get a good view. The only Birds visible from the Tower were some more Great Egrets. It also liked like there was a lot of development on going around the Bubali Pond and I wonder how long this oasis can survive in area now dominated by high rise hotels.
View from Bubali viewing Platform
In front of the Viewing tower was a small open channel from here on the Mud that first morning there were about 15 Sora, (Gaito sora) 2 Wilson Snipe, (Snepi di awa) 3 Common Gallinule ( Gaito pico cora) 1 had 2 large chicks in tow. An Eared Dove (Buladeifi) also landed briefly on the mud but soon disappeared along with everything else when I witnessed an American Kestrel (Kinikini) try and take a Sora.
Sora
Wilson Snipe
Eared Dove
The trees around the path that lead to the viewing Platform were really good for Yellow Warblers. There were plenty singing around the area and I managed a few glimpse of them as the moved about the trees. The Yellow Warblers (Parha di misa) in Aruba are of the rufopileata race and also known as Golden Warblers. They were hard to photography as the never really stopped moving. I really hope to improve on the record shot below.
Record shot of a Yellow Warbler
Bananaquits (Barica hel) were also common here in fact they were common all over the island. You would be sat eating breakfast and they would land on a chair next to you hoping to be fed some sugar. They were pretty vocal and you could hear them pretty much everywhere you went. There were also a few Bare eyed Pigeons (Ala blanca) around in the trees and they would often be seen flying around the area.
There was a group of Trees close to the Viewing Platform this is were I found my Brown-throated Parakeets or Caribbean Parakeet. (Prikichi) These use to be very common on the Island but since the introduction of the Boa Constructor numbers have fallen. The Boa seems to be haven an effect on a lot of bird species on the Island. The Parakeets were very vocal. These Parakeets are another Aruban Endemic subspecies, Aratinga pertinax arubensis Whilst watching these a Snowy Egret flew over head.
Brown-throated Parakeet
After a stunning Breakfast at the hotel we had a walk around Palm Beach. This gave me an opportunity to see what else was local to the hotel for future mornings. There was a fairly large Salina near to the Boardwalk hotel and Aruba Skydive centre. Here I found my first Black-necked Stilts (Macamba) and Yellowlegs they were to distant to work out if they were Greater or Lesser. Next to the Boardwalk hotel there was a small creek this held a Spotted Sandpiper and a fairly close Lesser Yellowlegs. (Snepi pia hel chikito) This could be a greater as unless they are side by side i really struggle to ID them even though side by side there is a noticeable size difference. Further along was another Great Egret. There was a large sandy area that looked perfect for another Aruban endemic subspecies. The Burrowing Owl. I will be definitely coming back to this area. These were top of my wanted list.
Black-necked Stilts
Lesser Yellowlegs
Spotted Sandpiper
The Creek went under a road and into another Salina. On here were more stilts, Egrets and a flock of Small waders. There were also 2 Killdeers (Lopi doble coyer) here my first of the trip these Plovers breed on the Island but numbers are boosted by winter visitors from America.
Killdeer
The afternoon was spent round the Pool. I struggle to relax and just sit by the Pool something Hannah the Wife adores. A book is often the easiest way to pass the time. With me on this trip i had decided against a Sports Person biography and went for a bit of History. The Nazi Hunters by Damien Lewis was a great read. Its a real life account of a team of SAS solders during the war and then their efforts in finding the Nazis they suspected of committing evil war crimes
I managed to blag an hour late afternoon at Bubali but in the heat of the day it was pretty quite. The Walk to Bubali was pretty productive there was a showy Green Heron hunting near a Small ditch.
Green Heron
A Flash of Orange also meant i had one of the brightest birds i have ever seen on my Aruba List. The Venezuelan Troupial (Trupial ) A Pair were busy feeding in a tree above my head they appeared to by stripping bark from some of the branches i guess in the quest for insects. Also nearby was a very tame Topical Mockingbird
Venezuelan Troupial
Topical Mockingbird
In Bubali i found a Bananaquit feeding chicks in a nest. An Eared Dove posed nicely in a tree these were a lot ease to approach than the larger Bare-eyed Pigeon who would fly away as soon as they saw you.
Bananaquit
Eared Dove
Where ever there was open water there were quite often what i believe to be Marsh turtles I guess these were being feed by locals as they would always swim over to you and wait as if to say feed me!! sadly i had nothing on me to chuck in.
Marsh Turtle
On the Walk back to the hotel i found another new Bird the Common Ground Dove (Totolica) this was a small Dove that as the name suggest was pretty common and was often seen feeding on the ground. I Checked the Salina opposite the hotel again and I was in luck an Osprey was hunting over the water. Sadly it was pretty distant and didn't hang around very long. A Productive first day and thanks to the wife for letting me off the lead for a few hours.
Common Ground Dove
Osprey
Caribbean Coot, Brown Pelican and White Cheeked Pintails